American Black Bear
Ursus americanus Pallas, 1780
Taxonomy
| Kingdom | Animalia |
|---|---|
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Mammalia |
| Order | Carnivora |
| Family | Ursidae |
| Genus | Ursus |
| Species | Ursus americanus Pallas, 1780 |
Description
Diagnostic characters
- Ecological class
- Trogloxene
- Realm
- Terrestrial
Distribution
Range
Known from six counties across four states.
Continent
North America
Country
United States
States and provinces
Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee
Counties
- Arkansas
- Searcy, Stone
- Indiana
- Lawrence, Monroe
- Kentucky
- Edmonson
- Tennessee
- Blount
Conservation and management
IUCN Red List
LC Least Concern
Assessed in 2016.
NatureServe
G5 Secure
National ranks
- Canada
- N5 Secure
- United States
- N5 Secure
Subnational ranks
- Newfoundland and Labrador
- S5 Secure
- Saskatchewan
- S5 Secure
- British Columbia
- S5 Secure
- Ontario
- S5 Secure
- Alberta
- S5 Secure
- Manitoba
- S5 Secure
- New Brunswick
- S5 Secure
- Quebec
- S5 Secure
- Newfoundland and Labrador
- S4 Apparently Secure
- Northwest Territories
- S5 Secure
- Yukon
- S5 Secure
- Prince Edward Island
- SX Presumed Extirpated
- Nova Scotia
- S5 Secure
- Nunavut
- SU Unrankable
- Missouri
- S4 Apparently Secure
- Vermont
- S5 Secure
- Nevada
- S4 Apparently Secure
- Kentucky
- S4 Apparently Secure
- Virginia
- S4 Apparently Secure
- NH
- S5 Secure
- Tennessee
- S3 Vulnerable
- Arizona
- S5 Secure
- Washington
- S5 Secure
- Connecticut
- S5 Secure
- Montana
- S5 Secure
- Utah
- S3 Vulnerable
- Arkansas
- S4 Apparently Secure
- Colorado
- S5 Secure
- New York
- S5 Secure
- Kansas
- SX Presumed Extirpated
- NN
- S5 Secure
- South Carolina
- S5 Secure
- NE
- SX Presumed Extirpated
- Maryland
- S3 Vulnerable
- Mississippi
- S2 Imperiled
- ME
- S5 Secure
- Texas
- S1 Critically Imperiled
- Illinois
- SX Presumed Extirpated
- West Virginia
- S5 Secure
- California
- SNR Unranked
- Georgia
- S4 Apparently Secure
- Ohio
- S1 Critically Imperiled
- DE
- SX Presumed Extirpated
- Minnesota
- SNR Unranked
- Wisconsin
- S5 Secure
- Pennsylvania
- S5 Secure
- Oklahoma
- S3 Vulnerable
- North Carolina
- S4 Apparently Secure
- Oregon
- S4 Apparently Secure
- Michigan
- S5 Secure
- Idaho
- S3 Vulnerable
- Indiana
- SX Presumed Extirpated
- Massachusetts
- S4 Apparently Secure
- Louisiana
- S3 Vulnerable
- ND
- S1 Critically Imperiled
- Florida
- SNR Unranked
- NJ
- SNR Unranked
- RI
- SX Presumed Extirpated
- Alaska
- S5 Secure
- New Mexico
- S4 Apparently Secure
- Iowa
- SX Presumed Extirpated
- Alabama
- S2 Imperiled
- Wyoming
- S5 Secure
- South Dakota
- S1 Critically Imperiled
- District of Columbia
- SX Presumed Extirpated
State and federal status
Not listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act
References
- Banta, A.M. 1907. The fauna of Mayfield's Cave. Carnegie Institution of Washington Publication 67: 1–114. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/60987.
- Dunivan, J.D., Tumlison, C.R. & McDaniel, V.R. 1982. Cave fauna of Arkansas: further records. Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science 36: 87–88. https://scholarworks.uark.edu/jaas/vol36/iss1/28.
- Linzey, D.W. 1995. Mammals of Great Smoky Mountains National Park - 1995 update. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 111: 1–81.
- Linzey, D.W. 2016. Mammals of Great Smoky Mountains National Park: 2016 revision. Southeastern Naturalist 15, Monograph 8: 1–93.
- Wallace, R.L. 1984. Biological survey report of Great Smoky Mountains National Park caves. Great Smoky Mountains National Park, U.S. National Park Service, Gatlinburg, Tennessee, USA. 33 pp.
- Wallace, R.L. 1990. Biological survey report of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park caves. Great Smoky Mountains National Park, U.S. National Park Service, Gatlinburg, Tennessee, USA. 34 pp.
How to cite this account
Ursus americanus Pallas, 1780. Cave Biology Data Portal, account SP-3041. https://cavebiology.org/species/ursus-americanus/ (accessed 7 September 2026).
Data sources and funding are listed in the Acknowledgments.
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